Isopods

[hermiwormi]

Iridovirus may jump species and both isopods and hermits are crustaceans, so caution is never a bad idea. The infected isopods will be bright iridescent blue.

So, I shouldn't be concerned if the isopods I collect aren't that shade of blue? Also, should I keep collected isopods in a temporary habitat until they 'clean out' everything from outdoors out of their systems?

ғɪᴠᴇ ᴘᴘs: ᴋᴏᴀ, ᴍᴏᴊᴀ, sɪᴀᴍ, ᴏᴢᴀʀᴋ, ᴀɴᴅ ᴄʜᴇʟʟᴀ

[wodesorel]

Yep, grow them out a generation or two for safety, or get some starters from someone who has been raising them in captivity for a while.

[ciaraalston]

How many would yall recommend to start with? I saw online a table chart that said 55 gal would need about 100 to start..... that's why i was so worried about them breeding and taking over. I'll only have about 5 crabs in the tank once it's set up.

[GotButterflies]

@Rawrgeous- none of my isopods are infected

I used a shop vac. I also have a lot of wood in my tank. Oak, cholla, cork, actual grapevine. I also provided a ton of leaf litter. They had a constant food source. Without a shop vac, you could just take the wood and knock it into a tote. I did this as well.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[ciaraalston]

@Rawrgeous- none of my isopods are infected

I used a shop vac. I also have a lot of wood in my tank. Oak, cholla, cork, actual grapevine. I also provided a ton of leaf litter. They had a constant food source. Without a shop vac, you could just take the wood and knock it into a tote. I did this as well.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Awesome! Well, it will be a couple of months before this 55 is up and ready for crabs or anything else. But once I get it set up, I'll buy some from you!
I'm taking my time with this tank. Plus, we have no where to put it so I'm having to build a stand (when I say I that means my boyfriend and his dad! Lol)

[AwesomeHermit]

@Rawrgeous- none of my isopods are infected

I used a shop vac. I also have a lot of wood in my tank. Oak, cholla, cork, actual grapevine. I also provided a ton of leaf litter. They had a constant food source. Without a shop vac, you could just take the wood and knock it into a tote. I did this as well.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Does it matter what type of leaf they are?

[GotButterflies]

I use oak, maple, Sycamore, Catappa and sea grape. All are organic.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Xenocrab]

Is an Isopod take over bad? We literally have thousands of them in our tanks! The crabs seem fine. The foods are being eaten. But they wont stop multiplying by the hundreds! Is there something we should or shouldn't be doing? They are all healthy, but it's an infestation! Will they die off? Kill each other? They are cool to watch and we go thru a lot of leaves and wood, that is normal. How many is too many?

[GotButterflies]

Is an Isopod take over bad? We literally have thousands of them in our tanks! The crabs seem fine. The foods are being eaten. But they wont stop multiplying by the hundreds! Is there something we should or shouldn't be doing? They are all healthy, but it's an infestation! Will they die off? Kill each other? They are cool to watch and we go thru a lot of leaves and wood, that is normal. How many is too many?

I personally find it irritating...
Once a week I take my cholla and cork bark out and smack it into my isopod tote. No, they won't die off. No, they won't kill each other. What you are experiencing is very normal. Try to see if a pet store in your area will make a deal with you to exchange merchandise for them

[Xenocrab]

What exactly do they do in a crabitat? They don't eat the poop. They don't kill off fruit flies. They just eat crabby food and mulitply! They are fun to watch. And they are fast!

Sent from my SM-S727VL using Tapatalk

[Xenocrab]

Btw, my husband and I just witnessed an isopod literally wagging his tail! Not joking! He saved it from drowning and held it on his finger. The little guy was wagging his tail! So darn cute! I love them more now!

Sent from my SM-S727VL using Tapatalk

[GotButterflies]

What exactly do they do in a crabitat? They don't eat the poop. They don't kill off fruit flies. They just eat crabby food and mulitply! They are fun to watch. And they are fast!

I agree, they are super cute!!

Your comment made me laugh out loud!!! They do eat crab poop. You must be feeding your guys so much food that they don't have to eat the poop Yes, they do multiply and are fun to watch. The powder blues are VERY fast!

To get rid of fruit flies stop feeding fresh foods, and or remove them first thing in the morning. You can also set up vinegar traps and or fly tape around the room outside of your crabitat.

[ciaraalston]

Is an Isopod take over bad? We literally have thousands of them in our tanks! The crabs seem fine. The foods are being eaten. But they wont stop multiplying by the hundreds! Is there something we should or shouldn't be doing? They are all healthy, but it's an infestation! Will they die off? Kill each other? They are cool to watch and we go thru a lot of leaves and wood, that is normal. How many is too many?

This is something I was so worried about before getting them! I only added a few (like 50 or so) initially to make sure it stayed under control. I still have plenty in the tote and so far I haven't seen them over breed in the tank. I haven't had to knock any back into the tote yet. If needed, i plan on setting up a second tote in case there's too many in the small one.
We added some to our snake tank but it's bark for substrate so I don't think they'll make it. I added oyster shells and the tank stays warm with high humidity but I'm not sure if anyone keeps them in bark.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N910A using Tapatalk